Questions about Ariels

[Princesspunkin]

I need your help again.
We are trying to decide between, Whitehall room and patio, Living seas , or Ariels.

I have tried to find pictures of Ariels ,but really need more pictures that actually show the room layout ans the size of the room. If anyone have any and can post them it will be greatly appreciated.

If you have a reception at Ariels where do you normally have the pre-reception?
Do Ariels open up to the outside?
Is it a big hassle to have guest to get there? It looks like guest can get there by walking through Beach club resort, is there any alternative routes?

And most important which venue is better, Whitehall, LSS, or Ariels?
I am trying to make a decision before my planner calls back.

Thanks for your help
Dawn

 

[lpizzuro123]

We did not have our reception at Ariels but did go there for our site visit. I do love the room and love the two different levels. I have a few photos from our site visit.

Photo of the main part of the room - this is a really dark photo but the room is very pretty.

This is where you would probably have your dancing - it is a few steps down from the main part where the tables are. Those doors do go outside but they are directly on the pool so you really cannot go out there. They keep the curtins drawn (I guess you could open them) but you are right on the pool.

This is where you would have your cocktail hour - it is a very nice room right next to the entrance to Ariels called Martha's Vineyard.

We have been to that area many times and there are two ways to get there. I guess it depends on where your ceremony is. If it is not at the Yacht and Beach Club and you will be entering from the main entrance you will need to walk through the loby of the Beach Club - go to the right and go past the entrance to the Cape May Cafe and follow your way around the hallway. Not too far but if you are doing an early reception you will be walking past everyone waiting for breakfast at Cape May.

If your ceremony is at the Yacht Club Gazebo you can walk there from the outside past the pool and enter right by the entrance to Ariels and Martha's Vineyard.

Sorry but I cannot help you with the other locations. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Linda

 

[ColeV]

I had my reception at Ariel's. It wasn't hard to get to at all. Our pre-reception was meant to be in the lower section in back of Ariel's where they also served food. Honestly, no one was interested in separating out for that, so most people hung around the reception area. The bar next door would also be good to have people gather. We just had a signature drink and figured if there were a few people that wanted a specific drink they could go next door (we had an evening reception and the bar was open then). There's a door just before Ariel's that leads outside to the walkway going between the Yacht and Beach Clubs.

 

[lpizzuro123]

To ColeV - wow your reception looks wonderful. I just love the colors you used and your centerpieces were beautiful. I just love the way you tied everything together.

Linda

 

[girli565]

I'm having my reception at Ariel's. The bar next door isn't holding cocktail hour anymore according to my planner, she says they are trying to steer couples into having the pre-reception in the lower level in the back. It's a lovely area with several windows so natural light comes in, I've been told that during the day it's very bright.

It's a quick walk to Ariel's from the Beach Club entrance, you walk right past Cape May and past the restrooms and there's the entrance! We're paying the valet service for our guests so they just pull up and go!

 

[helloirishkitty]

I can't really tell you which room is better, but I can tell you why we picked LSS over Whitehall and Ariel's.

Whitehall is beautiful, there is no question about it. But, I didn't want to have my reception at a hotel. I know that's weird, but I could do that at home (I know, it wouldn't be the GF at home). I wanted something that was different so I picked LSS. I don't love the way the roomlooks, and I will be spending $$ on decorating it, but it's beautiful and will make my wedding unique. I am the second last of my 32 first cousins to get married, and I really want to make my wedding memorable.

I also picked LSS because we are having a desert party afterwards and I didn't want to have to rent the bus again.

Each of the rooms you mentioned are beautiful so you can't go wrong- it's just a matter of what you envision for your day

 

[girli565]

I can't really tell you which room is better, but I can tell you why we picked LSS over Whitehall and Ariel's.

Whitehall is beautiful, there is no question about it. But, I didn't want to have my reception at a hotel. I know that's weird, but I could do that at home (I know, it wouldn't be the GF at home). I wanted something that was different so I picked LSS. I don't love the way the roomlooks, and I will be spending $$ on decorating it, but it's beautiful and will make my wedding unique. I am the second last of my 32 first cousins to get married, and I really want to make my wedding memorable.

I also picked LSS because we are having a desert party afterwards and I didn't want to have to rent the bus again.

Each of the rooms you mentioned are beautiful so you can't go wrong- it's just a matter of what you envision for your day

I have to agree about not wanting a convention center or ballroom. When the Napa room wasn't going to work for us because it was booked by a convention right after our lunch I was going to choose the Whitehall room. But in talking to my planner about it I knew that having my reception in a ballroom wasn't what I wanted. I could have had a wedding back home and done it in a ballroom, for me having something that was Disney-ish and playful and fun was important to me. Napa was my first choice because it overlooks Magic Kingdom but then Ariel's popped up and we loved it. It's in a lovely hotel, the theme of the room matched our color palette, and it accommodated our guest count without feeling too small or too big.

 

[WDWBride04/19/2010]

If you find me on FB I can send you the links (a lot of them are from our photographer and if I send the link otherwise it gives people problems).

Our pre-reception was in the lower room at the back. That's also where we had our buffet. (We didn't have either where lpizzuro123's last pic is taken.)
It does open up to the outside, but the doors were closed at least for ours (it was pouring anyway).
It was no big deal for our guests to get there. Our ceremony was at the Y.C.G. so people just walked over. Where is your ceremony?

I like Ariel's the best. LSS is cool, but too dark for me, plus it's inside and the transportation (walking or the ferry) time would've been longer.

HTH!

 

[DVC Bride 2011]

I had my heart set on Whitehall from the beginning - I love that you get the patio with it! I think that makes it totally unique and different from the typical ballroom setting. I also love the octagon shape - again, unique and different. It is a perfect size for our party - you can fit about 40 people with a DJ. I also have an attachment to the area. When I was a kid, we always stayed at the Poly so I love the fact that it is on the Seven Seas Lagoon and you can see the Castle from the patio. I have no attachment whatsoever to the Yacht & Beach Club.

However, when a convention swooped in and threatened to take away Whitehall, my next choice was Ariel's. I do think it's a beautiful room and the colors are fabulous. I love how it has 2 levels. The biggest reason why I did not want Ariels was the transportation (having to provide transportation from the Wedding Pavilion to Ariel's was costly) and the fact that the "outdoor" area wasn't as convenient as the Whitehall. And as I mentioned earlier, I have no attachment to this location- I've spent hardly any time at the Yacht & Beach Club so it's nothing special to me.

I was able to move my date up by one day and I did this specifically to get the Whitehall Room. I think it's fantastic. I think Ariel's is beautiful too though! It really depends on your party, and what you think is important to have in your reception.

 

[Kimmers127]

Can anyone throw out a guess as to what numbers (of guests) would work well for Ariel's? We're inviting about 85, but I could see us ending up with a final number anywhere between 30 and 80! Would anything in that range work? What is the point where Ariel's becomes too big/small?

 

[DVC Bride 2011]

Don't quote me on this, but I think when I was considering Ariel's my consultant said 80. I think it actually says that too in the special venues guidelines that they send it about the various reception locations.

 

[WDWBride04/19/2010]

I think we ended up w/41ppl? I could see it being perfect w/like 10 more, so 51. I think like 4 over that (55) it would start feeling too small.

 

[ColeV]

We had thirty, with tons of extra space. It didn't feel empty, but we could have easily fit another ten top on the upper and a couple tables on the lower instead of the high boys we had for the pre-reception. I can easily see 50-60 with out issue. We filled in with some extra tables that weren't necessary, which took up our space.

 

[ColeV]

 

[WDWBride04/19/2010]

We had the same set up except the main tables were pushed more to the left and our sweetheart table was towards the right wall. Also we had the carving and buffet reversed.

 

[girli565]

I know it says 80 somewhere and I was told 80 too by my planner. That's using both the upper and lower areas with tables of 10. I would imagine that 80 would feel quite tight. when I went to see it they had 5 tables set up on t he upper level and that seemed tight. We're having close to 40 people and we should be very comfortable.

 

[Princesspunkin]

Thanks everyone for your help. I think we are leaning more toward Ariels now. We just have to switch accomodations to the Beach Club instead of Animal Kingdom. I am not good at doing the quotes but to the person that asked we plan on doing the ceremony at the Wedding Pavilion, with a DP at Italy, and undecided about the reception location yet,

According to the paperwork, Ariels holds up to 80 with dancing, and Living seas holds up to 104.

Thanks for the beautiful pictures and the diagram.
On the diagram, wher exactly do people enter?


Dawn

 

[Kimmers127]

Thank you to everyone who replied with sizing info for Ariel's! That chart was extremely helpful too. (Ha, I will be printing that for my wedding binder when I get home! ) After hearing everyone's replies I think our group will likely wind up being a nice size for Ariel's... which is a relief because I really do have my heart set on it as a reception venue!

 

[ColeV]

Thanks for the beautiful pictures and the diagram.
On the diagram, wher exactly do people enter?


Dawn

The bottom left opening is where the larger entrance gates are.

There's also a small gate to the right of them. The dining space is up two steps, and so is the bar next door. There's a ramp that leads up to the bar area and that gate connects those two "upper" areas in case someone can't use the steps.